2008 – 2014 Excerpts From The Press – Saanich Police Statements

2008-2014 Excerpts From The Press – SP statements.

Feb 5, 2008

Police went to 1702 De Sousa Pl. about 6 p.m. Saturday after they received a 911 call asking them to check on someone there. Officers found the body of Buziak, an agent with Re/Max Camosun, inside the newly built home, which is listed for sale.

“We didn’t know what was happening. Then we quickly realized it was a little more serious,” Const. Brad Brajcich said yesterday.

Staff and agents at the Re/Max Camosun office were instructed not to comment to the media about the incident.

Red-jacketed search-and-rescue crews also helped police comb through the yards, garages and building materials on the quiet cul -de-sac. They were looking for a weapon and other evidence linked to the homicide, Brajcich said.

Feb 7, 2008

Jason Zailo, the boyfriend of slain real estate agent Lindsay Buziak, returned to 1702 De Sousa Pl. on Wednesday to help Saanich police re-enact events surrounding her killing. At the same time, investigators confirmed that Ms. Buziak died from MULTIPLE STAB WOUNDS, according to a forensic autopsy conducted Tuesday. But in order to protect the ongoing investigation, they wouldn’t reveal the EXTENT of her injuries, other than to say there was no evidence she was sexually assaulted.

Feb 22, 2008

Police continue to gather fingerprints and footprints from people who had been inside an empty home where the body of real estate agent Lindsay Buziak was found earlier this month, in an attempt to eliminate suspects.

Major crime investigators started the work -considered routine as part of a murder investigation – after Buziak, 24, was found stabbed to death in a bedroom of the Gordon Head home she was trying to sell Feb. 2.

Real estate agents say they’ve been submitting their fingerprints to police, as well as information on shoe types and sizes. Real estate agents say they’ve tried to help police identify anyone who had been in the home at 1702 De Sousa Pl. on a previous showing or open house, but that it will be hard to track down all those people because some of them did not provide their identities.

Police continue to make progress on the Buziak homicide and are NOT stalled, said Price, who offered no other details on the status of the case. Police have reportedly also been checking hotel registries, visitors to Buziak’s website, and postings on Facebook as part of the investigation.

June 4, 2008

Four months after one of the most high-profile murders in the capital region’s history, Saanich police still won’t say when, or even if, they’ll ever solve the case of Lindsay Buziak.

“It’s an open and active homicide investigation,” spokesman Sgt. John Price said last week. “Whether we’re making progress on it or not we’re not willing to discuss publicly.”

Up to 16 detectives have been investigating the case since Buziak’s body was found, said Price. But they don’t want to jeopardize their investigation, or even future court proceedings, by revealing TOO MUCH, he said. Such stringent silence usually means one of two vastly different things, said University of Victoria criminologist Benedikt Fischer: Police are chasing such an important investigative lead they don’t want to tip anyone off, or they have absolutely nothing to go on. A noteworthy murder brings with it a great deal of pressure on police, said Fischer. “It will become a gauge for the professionalism or the effectiveness of the Saanich police as to whether the case will be solved,” he said. “This is probably one of the most HIGH-PROFILE cases the police force has DEALT WITH.” A homicide clearance rate is considered a “critical indicator of the effectiveness of a police force” because it is often where a department put its most skilled investigators, said Fischer.The first few days of a murder file can involve most of the officers in the force, thousands in approved overtime and a concentration of resources rarely seen in other files.

“When you don’t have a smoking gun, the investigation is COMPLEX, and I believe that the majority of your readers know that,” said Price.“We’re NOT GETTING the same public pressure we are getting from the media.

“I think the public has a great deal of confidence in our ability to do our job.”

Feb 1, 2009

Police poured over Buziak’s life — interviewing her friends, previous boyfriends, family and work colleagues. To date, detectives have interviewed 1,471 people, said Insp. Rob McColl, head of the major crime unit. Some interviews were conducted in B.C., others in cities such as Calgary.

Officers have chased down 752 tips and executed 30 search warrants looking for evidence, McColl said. They searched the Songhees condo where Buziak and Zailo lived, and collected dozens of footprints from real estate agents and clients, in an attempt to weed out suspects from legitimate prospective buyers who had toured the home. Yet the killing remains unsolved. Police consider it a “whodunit,” not a simple “smoking gun” homicide, McColl said. “It’s common that these investigations are measured in YEARS, not months.”

Police aren’t yet willing to DIVULGE if they have a suspect, saying the focus remains on putting together the most detailed and accurate case they can, to ensure success if and when it goes to court.

A year ago, Saanich police said public tips WEREN’T NEEDED TO SOLVE THE CASE. A month after the killing, the family considered putting up a reward, but police told them they HAD SUFFICIENT INFORMATION and there was NO NEED to do so. Now, after a year of trying, the department admits it could usethe help.

“We think some of the people we’ve talked to may have gone away and since learned additional information,” said Sgt. John Price, Saanich police spokesman. “We’ve talked to 1,400-odd people and they’ve given us a level of information — some of them have shared completely, some of them have shared partly,” McColl added.“There are people who were probably expecting police to knock on their door and say, ‘What do you know about this?’ Perhaps we haven’t got to that for a variety of reasons … and we want to talk to those people. Don’t wait. Talk to police now.”

“Why she was killed goes to the ABSOLUTE CORE of this [case], and goes to MOTIVE. And there’s no way I can go to motive. So I’m sorry but there’s no way I can answer that.” At its peak, Saanich police had 20 officers working her case. During the year, 89 officers have helped investigate at one point or another. Five senior detectives continue to investigate full time. Last summer, the RCMP audited the Saanich murder file to ensure the investigation was up to standards. McColl called the results “favourable.”

Feb 4, 2009

Police say a well-dressed man and woman met Buziak at the home. Her friends say she was hesitant to show the home — but she went anyway.

On Tuesday, police released this sketch of the woman’s face in the hopes that someone will recognize her. “We know that there are people out there who know something and they’re just waiting for the opportune time to talk. We believe now is that time,” said Sgt. John Price of the Saanich Police.

Feb 2, 2010

Saanich police have revealed more evidence suggesting that the murder of realtor Lindsay Buziak was a CAREFULLY PLANNED crime CARRIED OUT by ATTACKERS who specifically targeted the 24-year ReMax agent. Police have determined that the cellphone was purchased under the name Paulo Rodriguez, an alias that investigators believe was “used as a DIVERSION,”and brought to Vancouver Island from the Lower Mainland in the 24 hours before Ms. Buziak’s death.

Police said Tuesday they are CONVINCED THE COUPLE, a tall, well-dressed Caucasian man and a Caucasian woman between 35-40 years old, wearing a distinctive pink, black and white cocktail dress, ARE RESPONSIBLE for Ms. Buziak’s murder.

Feb 24, 2010

“We don’t know why she was murdered,” Fast says, adding that whoever PLOTTED the murder used the fact she was an agent to lure her to the house. “That’s how it was set up.”
Investigators now know that the cell phone used to call Buziak was purchased in Vancouver in late November 2007. The phone was activated late January 2008 in Vancouver under a user name of Paulo Rodriguez with a Vancouver address.

June 03, 2010

Police in the Vancouver Island community of Saanich says they have SEVERAL theories in the death of a young realtor in 2008, including the possibility she may have been mistakenly targeted by PROFESSIONAL CONTRACT KILLERS.

Police say they believe she was intentionally lured to the home by a couple pretending to be potential buyers, but they still don’t know why. Police have not been able to identify the couple, but investigators DO NOT BELIEVE THEY LIVE in Victoria.

“You can be a person who just works and minds their own business in Victoria, yet through a VERY BRIEF NETWORK of friends,you could be absolutely CONNECTED to people that are involved in VERY BAD THINGS,” Horsley said.

**( One of Lindsay’s best friends, RG was in a relationship with Ovidio (Vid) who had a history of violence against women and was also involved in the Calgary drug organization. It has been alleged that Vid despised Lindsay)**

“This is completely different [than other homicides] in the sense that we have people who have been SENT or HIRED to set up the victim — to go to the house and commit the murder,” he said. This makes the investigation extremely complicated, Horsley said, in that the killers might have come from OUTSIDE Greater Victoria. Buziak was lured to the home by a man and a woman who said they were interested in viewing the million-dollar property at 1702 De Sousa Pl. in Gordon Head. A woman used a cell phone, purchased exclusively for the crime, to call Buziak. The victim was asked to show the house at 5:30 p.m., even though she wasn’t the listing agent. Buziak grew nervous when a man called back to say he’d meet her alone, but she went anyway, asking boyfriend Jason Zailo to check up on her.

The homicide took place almost IMMEDIATELY after Buziak met the couple on the street, Horsley said. They waited until Buziak was in an upstairs bedroom at the back of the house to stab her repeatedly.

Investigators have ruled out Zailo as a suspect. Horsley said there are video surveillance, cell phone records, and other investigative DETAILS to back that up.

Horsley said the brutal nature of the slaying might have been intended to make it APPEAR to be a crime ofpassionor to send a message to someone.

June 25, 2010

For more than two years SP has been on the hunt for the killers of local Real Estate agent Lindsay Buziak. And as “A” Vancouver Island reports, tonight investigators say when they do catch Buziak’s killer, THEY WON’T FIND THEM IN THE VICTORIA AREA.

Detective Chris Horsley: “If it is a murder for hire, it makes it that much HARDER for us to SOLVE. “Saanich police say despite following thousands of leads, they’re no closer to solving the case than they were 2 years ago. “The answers that we’re looking for just simply may not be in the VICTORIA AREA, so we need to put the net out wider.”

June 29, 2010

“Det. Chris Horsley, one of the 10 major crime investigators working the file, said yesterday that she could have been targeted by hired PROFESSIONAL killers.”

June 30, 2010

“MEDIA REPORTED widely that Buziak expressed trepidation at the showing, but Saanich Police dismissed those reports saying while Buziak felt the showing was UNUSUAL because she was not the listing agent, she wasn’t apprehensive about it. While some reports indicated Buziak asked her boyfriend, real estate Jason Zailo, to check on her at the house, Horsley said Zailo went to the house because he had real estate documents for Buziak to sign.”

August 3, 2010

“Detectives have said Buziak was likely targeted by CONTRACT KILLERS because they left behind NO DNA evidence and left the scene undetected. However, police remain stumped as to why she was targeted, as there is nothing in her background that points to motive.”

Sept 18, 2010

The 24-year-old real estate agent was killed Feb. 2, 2008, while showing a house for sale at 1702 De Sousa Pl. in Saanich. Saanich police Insp. Rob McColl and Det.-Sgt. Chris Horsley revealed never-before-released details about the murder on the program Dateline NBC last night in a segment entitled The Dream House Mystery. Police say there’s no evidence to indicate Lindsay Buziak was involved with crime or drugs but it is clear she knew people who were.

Crime scene investigators found NO FINGERPRINTS, DNA or other PHYSICAL evidence in the house. Zailo was initially arrested by Saanich police but was later cleared as a suspect.

February 2, 2011

“I wanted to ensure that it was the best possible representation to give us the best shot at catching the bad guy and gal,” McColl said. “Having had this on our plate (at the time of the broadcast) for more than two years, we had plenty of time to develop theories, look at them closely and think outside of the box,” McColl said, noting that police agree with the Dateline investigators’ conclusion that Buziak was an innocent party, and her murder was a targeted hit ARRANGED BY SOMEONE CLOSE TO HER.Saanich police have narrowed down the investigation to “three or four” working theories.

Jan 31, 2012

Saanich police insist the trail has not gone COLD. Police spokesman Sgt. Dean Jantzen said detectives are still working on the case, still entertaining tips, theories, even psychics’ suggestions. There’s been little progress other than a vague description of a Caucasian man with dark hair and a blonde woman with a patterned skirt seen near the house.

“This is frustrating to our investigators,” Jantzen said. “We receive information relative to this case on a weekly basis. It’s very much a front-and-centre investigation.”

Jan 31, 2012

Saanich Police Sergeant Dean Jantzen confirms that investigators are working daily on this case, but they are unable to provide media with any updates at this time.

“I would like nothing better than to sit here before you and tell you that we’ve had some success in this investigation. We are not there yet”

Sgt. Dean Jantzen:
“This (killing) was very organized,” said Saanich police spokesman Sgt. Dean Jantzen. “There was a lot of planning and effort and forethought. These are the most complex crimes. And this is the most egregious crime and often they can become long-term and complicated. “There are people in the community who are withholding information. We know there is a bit of cone of silence around this.”

Feb 2, 2014

“Police said she was lured by an unknown couple to the home, and then stabbed to death in an upstairs bedroom.”

Corrections

“A previous version of this story mistakenly stated police said Buziak was stabbed 54 times.In fact, police have never released details of the stabbing.”